In the Dark One Shot
by Dragon of Zanarkand
Summary: When a Materia accident leaves Vincent and Aeris stranded, they must deal with their conflicting personalities to survive their predicament, and each other. Slight AerisxVincent.


Thanks for reading! Even if it's just this far. Your typical disclaimer would be here, for I do not claim any characters. This is set in the middle of their adventures. I do hope I kept the characters well put and wish not to disappointing anyone. The story does include some of my head cannon, but I hope it will do without a large explanation.

* * *

"I said I was sorry."

"..."

"Nothing? Not even a nod?"

"..."

"Look, I'm sorry, again. I got...carried away."

"Obviously."

She looked up from her writhing hands to fix him with a soft glare. He, at the moment wasn't looking at her, but away into the cavern she has presently trapped them in. It had been roughly an hour since Aeris' eager response to a battle had left her and Vincent trapped on the wrong side of a cave-in.

" I do not know why Cloud gave you that Quake..."

" I didn't have any offensive Materia."

"With good reason apparently..." He looked to the large stones blocking their path. The others, leaving some of the party on the other side, were currently looking for a way to the stranded pair but it was becoming obvious that they would be awhile. While Aeris was glad that her companion was being much more talkative than usual, his monotone sharp remarks were grating on her usually patient composure.

"You don't have to be so mean." Aeris stood, brushing off her dress and for once, being able to look down to the lanky man.

" This is not exactly the primest of situations I could be in at the time."

" It could have been Yuffie." she chided, almost smiling as she saw Vincent's brow knit together. The man had had his share of Yuffie induced complications, and it seemed the young teenager was keen on either destroying what composure he had, or making an awful time of being his friend. In fact, besides some fireside conversations with Nanaki, Yuffie was the only one he seemed to tolerate. Even if it was a seemingly rough relationship. Aeris had on many occasions tried to get the Ex-TURK to talk, especially after some episodes with his inner demons left the party less trusting of him, but she could at best, only get a stammered apology out. He was more in control of at least what he called Galian Beast, but it still had left a stigma of hate around him, especially from Cloud.

" It is getting dark." Vincent stood and took a look at the only crack in the rock. The light that had filtered through was now fading.

" And it's cold." Aeris watched as faint wisp of mist rose as she spoke. Her short sleeved dress was most certainly not the appropriate attire for the cave, and she though when, or if, they get out of the damp place, she may invest some Gil into a good jacket. Looking back at Vincent, she caught him simply staring at her.

"What?" she tried to gauge his reaction from an expression, but not only were his eyes still, the high collar of his cape hid the rest of his face from her. He blinked, never losing face as far as she could tell.

" It is only going to get colder, and you are not dressed to comfortably survive the night..."

_Survive? It can't get that cold could it? _Aeris couldn't help a twitch along her jaw.

"...And there are no materials for tinder" Vincent took a brief look around. Aeris took notice that it was almost pitch black in the cavern now and the only reason she knew where Vincent was standing was due to the soft glow of his eyes. Her guilt of getting them trapped only deepened when she realized they had no equipment, rations, or way of communication outside of a few mumbled words through the small crack. She almost started to cry as her stomach rumbled loudly.

"Aeris?" She had heard his voice only after she felt the hand lightly grab her lower arm, jumping away she tried in vain to catch Vincent with a swing of her hand.

" Don't scare me like that! I can't see anything in here."

" I know, which is why I was trying to guide you back to the wall. Out of the way of the tunnels."

" You can see?"

" Yes." his answer short and to her, bitter sounding. She found the wall and as soon as she managed to sit down, felt a fabric fall on her. After some pawing around, she realized it was Vincent's cape.

_He only did that because you can't see his face now._ Aeris was surprised at the rather harsh thought. True, he never showed his face to anyone, but surely he would lend some much needed warmth, even in the daylight. She chalked it up to being tired and hungry and let it slip her mind. The silence that followed was empty and for a frightened moment, Aeris thought that Vincent had left her alone.

"I am still here." his deep voice seemed loud in the cave. Aeris wondered how he seemed to know what she was thinking, her mind bringing up stories and imaginative secrets the quiet man held. She couldn't stop a sarcastic snort from escaping, causing Vincent's eyes to train on her.

" I did not think this was a humorous situation."

"It...it's not. I didn't mean to...Oh forget it. It was nothing." she gave up on trying to paint a pale excuse. She was glad when his sight shifted back to the cavern branches. The soundless cave soon became too much for Aeris to bear. She would have given anything to hear something, crickets, the wind, Barret's snoring. A beast deep in the mountain granted her wish with a deafening howling, the sound getting closer and closer.

"Stay there." Aeris felt a slight breeze as Vincent stood and readied his gun. What she didn't know though, was that he only had two bullets. Though loud, Vincent hoped that the beast was of the average size, or smaller. A false hope indeed, for he knew nothing small ever lived in the mountains. It grew quiet around them, but Vincent's keen hearing caught the beast still heading their way, a low grunting pant signaled its presence around the first bend. Aeris screamed at the two sudden shots and the wailing of the beast. Silence followed only to be broken.

"Damn it." Vincent's voice betrayed his anger.

"What? What's wrong?" Aeris had to pull the makeshift blanket closer as she trembled.

" There is two of them." The man snarled in disgust at his mistake. It was stupid to not listen more carefully.

" Then shoot them!"

" I only had two bullets..."

"Materia?"

" Only Blizzard works against these things, which Tifa has..." Vincent racked his brain for a solution, trying to pinpoint the second beast before it ambushed him. He got lucky and was facing the tunnel the monster had chosen to come down from. Not being able to see only made the struggle Aeris heard worse, whatever Vincent was fighting was big, heavy, and strong. She thought about helping, but her staff was on the other side, and the only Materia she had that would help was Quake, the root of this whole problem. She could only gasp when she heard Vincent get hurt or when the fiend let out a howling cry. When the second screech of a fiend broke the air, she could only believe that another monster had found its way to them and was joining the fray.

"Vincent!"

She got no answer besides the screams of the fight.

Abruptly the cavern went silent.

"Vincent?" Aeris rose to a shaking stand, stopping upon hearing the bubbling wheezing. She dared to take small steps forward, crouched to lay her hand only a few feet off of the ground. Aeris squealed upon laying her hand against the beast, feeling the hard scales and the cooling blood, the fiend obviously slain. She managed to pick her way around trying to find her partner.

"Vincent, where are youaaaaaaa!" startled, the sentence filled out into a scream as a heavy body bumped against her, nearly knocking her over onto the ground. She felt rough fur lay next to her and it took no time to figure out that this was the creature wheezing asthmatically. Her hand shaking, Aeris reached out and laid a hand on the pelt of the monster, feeling the warm sticky blood and ragged breaths it took, her mind started turning.

" Oh God, Vincent..." she pushed her other hand forward, looking for his head, tracing over what she could only discern as large gashes one of which ran painfully up his throat. As her touch traced his muzzle, she felt it shrink back, skin replacing fur, paws turned into hands. She had seen him change, though painful, it seemed to heal his wounds for the most part. To her horror though, she felt the wet blood seep through his clothing and onto her hand. Aeris was near panic as she hoped she was bringing the fallen fighter back to wall, tripping over the cape and finally letting her pent up tears fall. Whimpering like a child, she did her best to lay Vincent on the bundled cape, feeling for the edge of his shirt. Her own panicked sobs drowned out the calling from the crack, only when she paused to take a deep breath did she hear the quieted sentence.

"Vincent's hurt, really badly..." she called with what she hoped was enough force to inform whomever was on the other side, afraid to leave Vincent. She managed to pull his shirt off, feeling for the wounds, hoping she heal him.

_My Cure is in my staff...with the others...I don't have nearly the amount of power to heal him without it.._.

The guilt she had been avoiding crashed down on her, filling her heart with a sadness she couldn't bear.

_Vincent's going to die, because of me and my stupid...actions. It's my fault we're here, and he's like this because of me...I'm so sorry._

She cast the weak healing spell the best she could, hoping it was enough to keep him from bleeding out before the others arrived. The next few hours were spent using the dry parts of his shirt to keep the blood off, but after awhile, it became a habitual movement. She didn't even notice that day had begun to seep through the crack until it was bright enough to see once more.

_Have I been awake all night?_

As if her realization was a trigger, her eyes felt heavy and she yawned, trying not to nod off as she glanced down at her comrade. Aeris didn't feel any better seeing the wounds, though some had essentially closed up, the worst were still open and weeping. The wound on his neck, she noticed was still actively bleeding, though she was sure not at the pace it had been. His breaths were shallow and she began to wonder if even still, he would simply just stop breathing.

She never remembered falling asleep.

As she awoke with a start, she instantly became afraid the her friend had passed, but as she looked down, she could see the gentle rise and fall of his chest. Aeris almost yelled in joy, but in catching herself, she could only smile.

_He's going to be alright...right?...Of course...the wound isn't bleeding like it was._

Aeris took the time to once more look over the injuries. What had been small cuts were gone now and the more serious of the lacerations on his chest were smaller too. She was amazed with how quick he healed, and began to wonder if that was part of the many secrets he kept from the group. Considerably more calm than she had been, she took time to look at his face for once. His features were fine, almost delicate and thin. She placed her hand on his cheek, thinking, he reminded her of someone, but of whom she could not remember. Someone that left a pit in her gut. Shaking, she moved his hair out of the way, noting dully, that it was in great need of combing and a trim. Doing so uncovered a small metal clip on the top of his left ear, tarnished with age and as she found out, clamped through the cartilage of the ear.

_Oh God, Hojo tagged him like an animal._

Leaving it be, she returned to the rest of his body. She had to take a good look at his right arm as she saw a thin but intricate tattoo. It reminded the woman of Nanaki's, and with a brief gasp she saw the roman numeral two within the ink.

_Jenova_

She had no time to think as the object of her investigation moved and promptly greeted her surprise with a low long growling. Vincent's face was twisted up in the most awful expression she had seen, only cementing the gut feeling. Aeris backed as much as she could against the wall as she saw the fangs that had replaced his teeth.

"Vincent...please. Calm down!" she first thought was that the pain and wounds had kept his mind in the state of a beast's but the look did not soften as he spoke.

" Where is my shirt?" his normally cool and level voice rumbled with a snarl. It surprised her. Was his appearance so important to hide? He tried to rise and reach for her, but an obvious shot of pain stopped him.

"I-I had to take it off...to clean you up. You were bleeding so much."

Vincent saw the shirt, now dried, and took several deep breaths with closed eyes to calm himself. There was no point in getting mad at Aeris, she was only trying to help.

_And you growl at her like some stupid dog._

When he did finally open his eyes, he did not, and could not look at her.

" I am...sorry..." he laid back down " I did not mean to frighten you." He still had so much self control to learn, at least, enough that wouldn't scare the entire party into hating him.

"I know you didn't mean it...I'm sure being hurt like that is stressful."

"Obviously"

Aeris pursed her lips as his snappy tone returned. At least he wasn't growling. She watched him for a few moments before getting up and coming around to face him. He dared a curious look, but it was obvious he wasn't used to meeting anyone's eyes, much less doing so while shirtless. She had seen him leave to the countless rivers they passed on their journey to bathe, and he certainly was a clean man, but it was always late at night once nearly all had gone to bed.

_He's shy. Or ashamed._

" I am fine" Vincent went back to looking at the stone wall. He wished he could quickly turn over and avoid her gaze, but as soon as the idea popped into his head, his neck gave a twinge of pain. The man let out a heavy sigh before picking himself into a sitting position,the cave floor rough and uncomfortable, never once looking at Aeris. He was getting a headache, most likely from the lack of blood currently in his system, but it had hurt so much getting up he did not want to waste it on simply laying back down on the rocks.

"You should lay down"

"..."

"Back to this are we? I know you aren't the most social of people, but we're stuck here, and it'll become night again. I'm tired and hungry, I'm sure you are getting hungry and are hurt. We can't survive if more of those monsters come."

She was right, of course. Vincent could care less if he died here, but Aeris was innocent. He failed Lucrecia, but he wouldn't let the flower girl fall to the same fate.

_But why do you care? She is not Lucrecia, now gone. Why bother? She is just going to end up hurt. No matter how much you care._

The last part of his thoughts caught him off guard. Care? No. Lucrecia was the only woman he cared about. Aeris was a fighting partner and nothing more. He was defending a comrade.

"Are you alright?" Her soft voice broke his angry thoughts. He hadn't even noticed his slightly upturned lip and scrunched brow until he felt the muscles relax.

"I am fine"

"Obviously not, you looked so angry and pained. You need to talk about it Vincent. It's the only wa-"

"It is none of your business!" He regretted his tone, and volume, as soon as he shut his mouth.

_Perfect, now she is crying. You are certainly a team player, Valentine. You can not even go a day without yelling and growling at her like a damn brute. Just go ahead and forget the manners your mother taught you_.

Aeris tried her best to keep the tears down, failing miserably.

"I'll just leave you alone then." Her tone was soft,without a hint of anger, and dripping with hurt. Vincent tried to stammer an apology, but she was already on the other side before his mind caught up. As quiet as the little brunette tried to be, Vincent's sharp ear caught the sobbing, sniffling, and a few coughs.

_Am I so out of touch that I can't even show gratitude? She was not asking much...and I snapped like that...How fitting. The one person whose heart knows no bounds, who only smiles at people, I made cry. It simply proves that I am a monster, just as Hojo planned. Congrats Doc, you win._

He had to give a crooked smirk at his use of his old nickname for Hojo. They, or at least from his end actually got along long ago. Now? He would give anything in the world to kill that bastard. Vincent looked back to Aeris, who had stopped crying at the cost of her awakened state. She looked rather peaceful, he thought. Considering.

Aeris awoke on the ground, laying on the red cape, facing a blazing fire. Besides the smell of smoke, a beefy kind of smell wafted to her. Sitting up, she saw the small but hot fire burning next to a stack of dried wood and hunks of cooked meat. She wondered where this all came from, but didn't have time to ponder as she noticed Vincent was gone, along with the two fiends. Her first thought was to call out to him, but after his latest reaction, she held her her tongue, worried no less. She picked up a piece of wood, wondering where it was from, noticing it was a plank more than anything else. Standing, she ignored the meat at the time, more concentrated on finding her companion now. Aeris stood for a scared moment at one of the tunnels, trying to figure out which one he could be down, and finally just going to the far left. She lucked out as she came to an opening into a vast cave with a high roof, a hole in the top let bright moonlight in. As she looked around, she could see remnants of mines stretching down some tunnels . In the middle was a pool and at the moment Vincent was bathing. Her squeal alerted him to her arrival, though she had seen nothing other than his bare back, she noted his pants at the water's edge. Vincent promptly turned and fell into the water until only his upper face was showing, an red blush ran across his face.

"I-I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean...oh God...I'm sorry" Aeris had covered her face, stammering and lightly dancing around in embarrassment. Oh, why didn't she just stay put! After getting her bearings, she promptly made her way back to the campsite.

Vincent stayed sunken into the water long after she had gone, almost afraid that she would come back at the worst time.

_Good job. Why in the world did you think it was a good idea to do this? Besides washing the blood and dirt off? Should have just worn the pants in_.

Aeris couldn't look at Vincent as he returned, mumbling to himself. It took her some time before she could muster the courage to speak to him again.

"I'm sorry, again. I guess we can call it even and stop fighting?" Aeris didn't even think of what came out of her mouth until it was said. Both looked at each other with fierce reds across their face. Vincent was the first to look away, saying something Aeris could only recognize as another language.

" You should eat something." he stated before she could say much. " The meat is from the fiends, but it is fine."

Aeris welcomed the topic to distract her, but the blush barely faded. She took up the meat, and despite knowing where it came from, she took a bite, surprised at the mild flavor.

" I...took a look around for a chance to get out, but the mines just go on." Vincent began to venture. " But it showed me another problem. I was thinking of using the Quake to move the rocks, but more than likely it will bring this place down on us. We were lucky last time. "

Though his voice held no accusation, Aeris couldn't help but feel like he blamed her. It was her fault they were in here anyway. She stopped chewing and simply sat there.

"I do not blame you. It could have been anyone, besides, we have food and a fire, it should be easier now." He tried to sound helpful, but his common monotone made it like he was simply state memorized facts.

_At least I am not yelling anymore_.

Aeris looked back to him with a slight smile. "I guess...thank you for the food."

Vincent didn't acknowledge the thanks, but she knew he had heard her. It seemed more comfortable with the fire and the easing of the tension, though it was quite obvious that they still rather shaken by the pool scene. The man did eventually sit across from her, keeping his head low, and occasionally picking at his shirt for things that had not been washed away.

" That's getting ratty, maybe in the next town we can get you at least a new shirt." Aeris smiled softly. " It's so full of holes and I've had to stitch that poor thing up so many times, I'm sure it's more string than fabric."

Vincent closely inspected the article of clothing and noted, yes, it was high time for him to get something new. Mostly due to the fact his transformation in the beginnings had nearly rid him of his clothes. After some time, though, he learned that somehow he could change while not tearing them. Of course, that was how he originally got into these. His clothes long lost during his day in the lab, turning into a monster. Aeris was the one who stayed up at night, mending both his clothing and his mind. He would have left long ago without her.

_Mother would be appalled to see me like this_

He wondered why he was thinking of his mother so much right now. If she had been around still, she would have broken his arms for the way he had treated Aeris. Not exactly a happy thought, but his chest tightened as he remembered the short fiery woman, her black hair pulled into a tight bun, ruling the house with an iron fist and the softest heart he'd known. He missed her dearly, even now he found. She went too early and with too much pain in her heart.

Aeris was not lost on the expression on Vincent's face. He was sad, missing someone or something. She felt bad not being able help, but she understood that he would not welcome an embrace, no matter how heartfelt it was.

" I-I heard you speak something earlier. I couldn't understand it." she hoped a conversation would cheer him up, and not anger him with her prying. Vincent seemed to think about something before looking to her.

"Wutaian."

"I didn't know you spoke Wutaian...wait...is that why you gave Yuffie that glare when she yelled something at Tifa? You understood her? What did she say?"

"Nothing nice."

"That little..Oooh!" Aeris pursed her lips and shook her head. " A stern talking to is what she needs!"

Vincent couldn't help but be entertained by the petite woman's soft anger. She couldn't even rightfully get angry, it was...cute.

_What! No. I am bound to Lucrecia, I will not tarnish her memory but thinking these things...what's so wrong with Aeris? Why would she tarnish a memory? It is not her fault I am thinking of such...things. It is all my fault._

He was so caught up with his thought that he had not heard Aeris talking to him.

"Huh, what?" He looked from his gaze.

" I asked where you learned Wutaian."

"Oh...my mother taught it me and and my si-..father. She insisted we knew it, actually teaching me Wutaian before English."

_I am certainly being up front today, about most things anyway._

Aeris had caught the stammer, but did not press. He was being a lot more forthcoming than he usually was and pushing it would cause him to shut down.

"So you're Wutaian?"

" Only half."

When she thought about it, she did note the tiniest hint of the accent, and upon studying his face well enough realized he had the same features of Yuffie, but softer. It was mostly noticeable in his eyes, which she took too long to study as Vincent let out a soft cough. She looked away with another blush and murmured an apology.

_Why am I telling her any of this? A silence would keep her from prying. I have no obligation to say anything..._

"You should probably get washed up...too." Vincent offered a reason to stop the questions. Aeris gave a half nod, she figured she should, but what if more monster decided to show?

" Could...you keep an eye out for me?" she hated to ask it of him, but she would not feel safe going alone. She felt even worse when his face paled.

"I-I guess there is a possibility of something coming back.."

They were both quiet as Vincent found a perch to see the tunnels without getting a view of Aeris, which was hard considering there were no high spots to get a good Aeris-less sight from. The water was cold, but she was glad to get the dirt off of her, sinking down as if in a hot tub.

_I guess I'm actually getting through to him...or he's letting me through. Either way, I wonder what else he'd tell me. Maybe about that tattoo? Or the tag? He's just so hard to talk to sometimes, like he's always on the verge of snapping. On a few occasions, he and Cloud would get into it, but I don't think he's an angry man, just defensive..._

Aeris swam around a bit, enough to start enjoying the water. She never got to swim in Midgar, and actually had just recently learned from Tifa while on their journey. Once she had become accustomed to the water, they could hardly keep her out.

_I wonder if Vincent likes to swim, beside bathing. God, he looks like a gargoyle or something, just sitting there, still as stone._

Aeris watched him, even from the distance she could see his eyes following the small rodents on the floor, never missing a movement. She could almost think of him as a cat, watching his prey, waiting for the moment to strike.

" I don't think the mice will hurt me!" the flower girl called, stifling a giggle as the stoic man nearly fell off the pile of carts. She dunked her head and figured it was probably best to get back to the camp. All she could do was brush the water off as she did the dirt on her dress, but Aeris did feel much better

Vincent was a bit glad when Aeris had made the comment. At the time, he had been fighting with his own mind. Half of him wanted nothing to do with the small furry creatures, another deeper part want to snatch the mice up into his mouth, hearing them squeak and whine as he played with their life, only to end them in a delicious crunch. He only joined her when he was sure she was dressed and that the savage thoughts had subsided.

Back around the fire, they sat in a silence that was much more comfortable. Aeris had banked the fire for the rest of the night, but she could not sleep. Question after question popped in her head as she simply stared into the fire, wondering how to bring them up.

" I saw your tattoo." she blurted out, not even looking up from the flame. Vincent looked to her in confusion, but soon realized what she had been talking about.

"..."

"Is it Jenova? It's a lot like Nanaki's."

"No, I do not have Jenova cells. I was christened a failure and it never happened." He wanted that rumor out of the way, no need for that to be going around. He decided to avoid the reason Hojo had deemed him so was due to the fact he hadn't bent to the scientist's will and on many occasion tried to tear him limb from limb.

" Oh." She had no other answer. Certainly a "good for you" wasn't in order.

" Go to sleep. You need it." Vincent noted that the flower girl looked worse than ever. Though no longer hungry or dirty, she was pale with stress. Before she protested, he put his hand up and pointed to the makeshift bed.

" Sleep."

Aeris didn't realize she was tired until she laid her head down, slipping off quickly. Vincent wouldn't sleep. Couldn't was more like it. He sat against the far wall, away from the fire. Though he knew doing so would worry Aeris for fear of becoming cold, he hadn't really needed it. He chalked it up to Galian Beast for his high body temperature, the inner beast being of the fire-type persuasion. And he supposed the Behemoth and Vlakorados hybrid was responsible for his outbursts too, though it always felt like it was a different kind of demon tempting him with those thoughts, he figured, and kind of hoped, it would all be figured out eventually.

_Be quiet_

Aeris heard the voice in her head, but could tell it was not hers. It was too deep.

_There is another fiend, stay still and I will lead it away._

She realized, it had been Vincent's.

She did not open her eyes, but listened intently. All she could make out was a rough snuffling from the far edge of the cave. It stopped for a moment before a fight broke out. Thankfully for Aeris's nerves, it was a short bout.

_I am fine, do not worry._

"Except you're in my head!" she didn't mean to sound so worried, but the flower girl was certainly bothered.

_A simple trick I recently found out_. The large dark purple beast slunk into the fire light. He laid down and fixed Aeris with amber eyes.

_Do...you mind if I stay like this. It would be easier for me to protect you._

He failed to include the fact he was quite comfortable in this form now that blood had been shed.

"I-I guess not...As long as you don't..."

_Bite?_

"No! I mean... no. I don't think you'll do that...I don't mind." She really couldn't find a good reason to deny Vincent, it just seemed...odd. Though it bothered her, Aeris took the chance to really study Galian beast. She had to admit to herself that his plush purple fur looked inviting and the color would look wonderful on a flower. The flower girl began to relax as she thought of all the things completely not related to the ferocity of the beast across the fire. Bows and collars, booties, scarves, mittens. She soon had herself laughing so hard, she could no longer hide it.

_Something funny?_

"Not really...It wouldn't be to you at least."

_Then shall I leave you in your insanity?_

Aeris could only nod as she imaged a row of braids finished with pink bows done into his red mane. After some time, she managed to get herself under control, noticing that Vincent did not look to her as she sighed.

He was asleep.

Despite her earlier fears, softened by her girlish imaginations, she went over to the other side of the fire and joined him. As she thought, his fur was soft and warm, almost like a hot water bottle, though living and breathing. She snuggled down, smiling as she noticed a slight purr.

A beating to the head wasn't Vincent's ideal way of waking up, but as the heavy stick rained down, he had to get up before he was knocked dead.

" Yuffie! Stop! He's just asleep!"

"But it's awake now!" The young ninja readied the stick like an amateur batter, ready to swing if given the reason. " Now's your chance to move Aeris, while it's dizzy!" Aeris grabbed the stick from the girl and stomped her foot lightly enough to not add much to her argument.

" He was asleep, and completely not attacking me...We were both asleep actually."

" But that beast!"

Aeris had to give the girl some slack. Last time she had dealt with Galian Beast, she had nearly lost a hand. She crossed the now low fire to pick up Vincent's cape. Dusting it off she returned it to its owner, who promptly took a human form, back to the party, and put it back on.

"Shall we go now that you are done?" Yuffie narrowed her eyes at the tall man, backing up down the tunnel.

"I'm watching you, furball."

Aeris notice a hint of a smile on the girl's face. Back to old Yuffie. She joined Tifa's side as they made their way back.

" How was your vacation with Dr. Gloom?" Tifa laughed a bit in her hand.

"Boring. At least until Yuffie started braining him with the stick."

" Well, we're all glad you are both okay."

"Me too. Oh, you want to know what Yuffie called you?"

She could almost feel Vincent roll his eyes.

* * *

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it, even if it's not that great.


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